


The Luck of a Wedding that Never Was

by Amledo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: HP: EWE, M/M, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 04:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/670109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amledo/pseuds/Amledo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter is marrying Ginny Weasley, and Draco knows that he doesn't deserve the chance to stop it, so why is he standing outside of a muggle church, and why is Harry looking at him so strangely.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Luck of a Wedding that Never Was

Draco pressed his forehead against the cold stone wall of the muggle church, his hands resting on either side of it, shading his eyes from the bright light of the cloudy day. He was swallowing thickly against tears and misery. How dearly he wished that he could scream in regret, and yet they would know that he was there if he did so. And as much as he wished it wasn't happening, he wasn't about to interrupt the proceedings of the day.

Would that he had been a Gryffindor, his courage might not have abandoned him so utterly.

It was just a church, just a stupid wedding, and yet those very things were poised to burn the heart from his chest and leave it crumbling in ashes upon the ground. Why did he have to let himself believe that he had a chance? Of course he didn't. Who would be stupid enough to think that there was a chance? They were old rivals after all, and no real kindness had ever passed between them. Yet here he was, pressed against the wall of a church in the middle of nowhere, begging a God that he did not believe in, to spare a heart that didn't deserve happiness.

"Draco? What are you doing here? Are you okay?" Harry's voice cut through the gloom like a bolt from the blue. Draco felt his heart speed up with fear and anticipation as he turned to face the other man. They were both 24 this year, Hogwarts was already 6 years behind them, and there was no flare of the old rivalry.

Tears still glistening on his cheeks, Draco looked into those stunningly green eyes and felt his breath hitch. Harry was dressed in an old fashioned muggle suit, it hugged his torso and coattails touched the backs of his knees. The entire ensemble was black with touches of silver highlight on the cuffs and hems. The glasses that had defined his face for so long were gone, leaving those green eyes un-obscured.

"I…sorry Harry. I'm fine. I just came to…" Draco dropped his head and clenched his fists, shaking his head as more tears began to fall.

"It's okay. You want to come to the pub with me?" Harry said, offering his hand to pull Draco away from the wall. The older man was dressed in a plain black muggle tuxedo, his long blonde hair tied at the nape of his neck.

"Pub? Haven't you got to be at your own wedding?" Draco said, hoping that he didn't actually choke on as many of the words as it seemed like he had. Harry pulled Draco to his side and turned their feet toward a path leading into the village.

"I haven't got to be anywhere Draco. There isn't going to be a wedding," Harry replied at last, there wasn't a trace of bitterness in his voice, but there was something of a touch of weariness. Draco chanced a glance at the other man and made note of the neutrality of that expression, Harry had done that before. He had played the quiet hero; he had stood by with a bland look on his face while his heart was torn to shreds. Harry was exceptionally good at standing up for everyone except himself.

"There would have been. What happened to Ginerva?" the blonde knew that he was pushing it; he knew that those green eyes could easily turn on him in anger. They had so many times in the past and Draco still bore the scars from one encounter in particular. He would never forget the day that he had been on the business end of one of the scariest curses that his Godfather had ever devised.

"She realized that we are young. That she wants a career before children. I don't fault her for that. The timing perhaps, but not the decision. You are a bit of an odd benefit really. I have been trying to get ahold of you for ages," Harry said softly and Draco understood that there wasn't any pain to be had in that voice. Harry simply didn't care. He wasn't sad, he wasn't angry, he wasn't relieved, he just was. It was the other bit of the statement that gave him pause.

"Why have you been looking for me?" the shock in his voice was genuine, he had been dying to hear from Harry and he didn't think that he had made himself hard to find.

"I've known where you were Draco. Severus has made no secret of the fact that you live with him. He won't let me speak to you," Harry said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, his green eyes open and honest.

"Why the bloody hell not?" Draco demanded, his eyes were burning with anger.

"Because he was convinced that I would hurt you," Harry responded and pushed open the door of the local pub. He nodded at the barkeep and led Draco to a table at the back of the room. They each took a seat and pursued the menus that had been left on the table. It was normal muggle pub food and Harry found himself laughing slightly as Draco puzzled out the names of some of the dishes. The Americans were starting to have an influence and it looked like Draco was beyond confused by the concept of a BLT Deluxe burger with fries and a coke.

The time spent going over the menus gave Draco a chance to calm down and consider what Harry had said to him. Draco was not a shallow person, at least he wasn't these days, really you couldn't be when your father was a convicted war criminal and your Mother locked in St. Mungos. It was his Uncle Severus that had helped him to begin being a productive member of society, pulled from his rut of misery and trained him to be a Potions Master.

"So, would you explain why Uncle Severus thought that you would hurt me?" Draco said softly after the server had walked away with their order. The girl was probably only 17 or so, and her eyebrows vanished beneath her bangs when she noted how they were dressed.

"Draco…I don't really have the words to tell you why he thought that, and I'm not sure that this is the place," Harry breathed; two bright spots of color oh his cheeks as he averted his eyes from Draco's sharp grey gaze.

"Just tell me Harry. It can't be all that bad, Uncle Severus is just over protective," Draco replied, his voice low and quiet, the pub was mostly empty and the server was occupied, flirting with the cook. There wasn't going to be a more opportune moment, at least in Draco's eyes.

"He wouldn't let me talk to you but he talked to me. I needed advice, and I had thought that going to you would be easier because I knew you were…I mean…it wasn't a secret that you had had a boyfriend or two in the past. I guess Severus was in the same boat, so when I was having doubts, he…he was able to talk me through it. But he was convinced that it would tear you to pieces if you knew," Harry whispered, he knew that he was being somewhat vague, but he also knew that he didn't quite have the courage to just come out and say what he was thinking. Not that he was thinking it, of course not; he was supposed to be thinking about the wedding bullet that he had just dodged…the lifetime of commitment that he had missed out on rather.

"So…you're into wizards, but you were going to marry a witch?" Draco said, attempting to be calm and tactful and to not let his excitement get away with him. Did he have a chance to tell Harry what had been on his mind after all?

"It only seemed proper. I mean, I did love Ginny. I do love her still. But I realize now that I love her the way Ron loves Hermione, like a sister that I couldn't live without, but not as a potential mother to my children, or a partner to grow old with. Besides, I'm not into wizards; I'm into a wizard, just one. Haven't got a chance in the world with him, so it was good to talk to Severus, since he didn't ask me who it was and just left it alone," Harry was more confident as he spoke, but he still couldn't quite meet those grey eyes. Draco had always been clever, and Slytherins were a notoriously observant lot.

"Ron married Luna, didn't he?" Harry nodded with a dim smile; it had been a lovely ceremony. "Hermione is better off being single for now; I'm reading about her in the papers almost every day. Youngest witch ever to hold such a high rank in the Ministry, even if she did invent it herself it's nothing to sneeze at. I'm willing to bet that Uncle Severus figured out who your wizard was. That's probably why he didn't want you to talk to me about it. He doesn't think I handle rejection well," Draco said, his voice trailing off toward the end, but still loud enough that Harry's eyes snapped up.

"No, Draco, he didn't know. Else he would have let me talk to you. He'd have thrown me into a room with you and locked the door until I talked to you," Harry's voice was choked but his eyes never left Draco's gaze. When understanding dawned over Draco's face the blonde reacted by letting out a long sigh and sinking back into the booth, eyes still on Harry.

"Me? Really Harry? You can do better…t…than me. Uncle Severus would want to protect you as well, of course…I'm not worth your consideration," Draco whispered, his eyes only shifting when Harry's long fingers wrapped around his hand. They were blazing hot and left Draco no choice but to pay attention to the contact.

"And that's why he'd have locked us both in a room. So that you couldn't run away from me. But I won't let you Draco. I won't let you run away from me, not when I'm finally so close to having you," Harry's voice was low enough that Draco had to lean in to hear it. His heart was thudding madly in his chest and his head was spinning with the knowledge that somewhere, there was a God and He thought that Draco deserved to be happy.

"Harry, if you don't let go of my hand now, then you're probably going to have to hold onto it for the rest of my life," Draco said, voice equally low. His eyes didn't divert from Harry's face even as the pub gained a new customer.

"That was the plan Draco," Harry responded with a cheeky smile, shifted his hand so that his fingers were twined with Draco's, and pulled the blonde in close, sealing the promise with a kiss. Draco's hand tightened around Harry's and a half-sigh half-contented moan escaped him at the feeling of Harry's lips against his own. It was a chaste kiss, but it drew something like a wolf-whistle from across the pub.

Harry and Draco both turned to face their audience with equally shocked looks on their face. Hermione was leaning against the bar holding a beer, but the whistle had not come from her. Sirius Black had a grin on his lips that could make a school girl blush and beside him, rolling his eyes dramatically; Severus Snape was sipping a mug of coffee. All of them were dressed for a wedding that would never happen, and Harry wondered for the briefest moment if he should feel guilty. He decided against it though, when he saw them smiling.

"Took you long enough kid," Sirius said as the group piled into the booth, Sirius next to Draco and Hermione next to him, Severus sitting beside Harry. Harry's face flamed red; Sirius had been the only one that Harry had told about his actual love interest.

"You've no room to talk Uncle Sirius, absolutely none," Harry replied, his hand still linked with Draco's as he sipped his coffee, face still red.

"He doesn't does he?" Severus asked with a smirk and Harry suddenly felt like he should have kept his mouth shut. It was odd to say the least, watching Severus tucking a piece of hair behind Sirius's ear, expression softened into a smile.

"Hermione, it really is lovely to see you," Draco said, his cheeks were brilliant red.


End file.
